Description

Three days after becoming President of Texas, David G. Burnet appoints Michael B. Menard to negotiate with the Indians

David G. Burnet Manuscript Document Signed "David G.
Burnet" as President of Texas, one page 7.75" x 9.75".
Executive Department, Texas, March 20, 1836. Countersigned
"Thomas J. Rusk" as Secretary of War. In full, "To
Michael B Menard Esqr. Know ye that I David G Burnet President of
the Republick of Texas reposing especial trust and confidence in
your valor Patriotism and Conduct have nominated and by and with
the advice and consent of my Cabinet have constituted and appointed
you the Special Agent of the Government aforesaid for the following
Tribes of Indians to wit the Shuanees the Delawares and the
Kickapoos all resident in the Department of Nacogdoches and in your
intercourse and negotiations with said Tribes of Indians you will
be regulated in all respects by the written institutions you may
from time to time receive from this Department of the
Government." Penned on verso of integral leaf "Indian
Agency/Comssr," in unknown hand. Meeting in Washington-on-the
Brazos, Texas, from March 1-17, the delegates to the Convention of
1836 wrote and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution of the Republic of Texas, named Sam Houston Commander
in Chief of the republic's military forces, and organized the ad
interim government with David G. Burnet as President. The
convention hastily adjourned on the morning of March 17th after it
was reported that the Mexican army was approaching. It was on that
day that the ad interim presidency of David G. Burnet began.
Three days later, somewhere in Texas, Burnet and Rusk signed this
document.

French-Canadian Michael Menard was well-suited to be Special Agent
for the Indians residing in Nacogdoches, especially the Shawnees.
While working with his uncle in the fur trade in Illinois, he
became a resident trader to a band of Shawnees living near Ste.
Genevieve, Missouri. Chosen a chief, Menard moved with the
Shawnees, first to Arkansas Territory, then, in 1828, to the Red
River. He continued trading for skins and furs from the Shawnees as
well as other tribes and by 1834, he owned 40,000 acres in Texas.
Menard represented Liberty County at the Convention of 1836 and
signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. By this document,
Burnet appointed him to negotiate a peace treaty with the Shawnee,
Delaware, and Kickapoo tribes in northeastern Texas.

On March 19, 1836, a day before signing this commission, Burnet
wrote to Menard. That letter is in the Texas Indian Papers in the
Texas State Library and Archives. He told him that he had "been
selected as the most suitable person to be found in Texas, for the
transaction of business that is equally important and delicate...It
is a matter of great importance to secure the entire neutrality at
least, of the Indian tribes generally, and especially of such of
them as have migrated from the north--your experience in Indian
affairs renders it very desirable to have the benefit of Your
agency in effecting this object...I must enjoin it upon you to
avoid with great caution entering into any specific treaty relating
to boundaries...If you could secure the services of even a few
confidential men of the Shawnee tribe or any other personally known
to you to act as scouts, it would be a valuable acquisition to our
forces..."

A month earlier, Sam Houston had negotiated a treaty with tribes in
east Texas reserving areas of land for Indian use. The Convention
of 1836 did not ratify the treaty. Good relations with the Indians
were crucial to the success of the new republic. Texas was at war
with Mexico and could not afford a war with the Indians. This
appointment of Menard who had lived with the Shawnees was a way to
assure the Indians who felt betrayed that their friendship was of
the utmost importance.

Dampstaining affecting the start of Burnet's signature and
throughout does not materially detract from the document's
appearance. Overall, in near fine condition. One of the earliest
significant Republic of Texas documents to be offered for sale.

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